A missing hard drive containing the personal information of thousands of individual pension and life insurance policyholders of Co-operators Life, a subsidiary of The Co-operators Group Ltd., has raised fears for a potentially massive case of identity theft.

On January 23, the company was informed that the hard drive had mysteriously disappeared from the Regina-based Information Systems Management Canada, a data management company.

In a press conference today, Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators Group of Companies says she offers a sincere apology to the customers affected by the theft.

“Everyone in the organization, starting with me, has made this our top priority. We are all working very closely with police and other stakeholders to minimize potential risks to our affected life and pension clients,” she says.

Approximately 180,000 customers across Canada, including Bardswick, herself a life and pension client, now fear that their personal information may presently be in the hands of thief.

The thief can access private client information such as social insurance numbers, pre-authorized banking information, and dates of birth, addresses and pension details.

Co-operators customers who have business in the automobile, home, farm, and commercial side of the company are not at any risk because their information was not contained on the stolen hard drive.

“To date we have no reason to believe that any of that information has been accessed and we have no reports of illegal activity. However, we have been informed that it would be possible for a sophisticated fraud ring to use this information for criminal purposes,” says Bardswick.

The firm is currently working with the Regina Police Services Major Crimes Unit as well as with credit reporting agencies such as Equifax and Transunion.

“We have also notified Visa, MasterCard, the Canadian Bankers Association, and the Canadian Credit Union system of this occurrence. We’re advising all of our clients to remain extra vigilant and even put a flag on their credit file. Be aware of any transactions that appear abnormal,” she says.

To try and keep clients abreast of the situation all those affected have received a letter explaining the situation and the risks involved.

“We’ve also established a call center, 1-800-604p0060, where customers who need additional information and counsel can receive it. Information on our Web site, www.cooperators.ca, is updated on an hourly basis,” she says.

According to Bardswick an internal and external investigation is underway and more details concerning the theft probably won’t be released until it’s completed.